🚔 Sheriff forcefully rejects Stand Your Ground claims
⚖️ Suspect held without bond on murder charge
🎥 Rare public video response from sheriff
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS — The Walton County Sheriff’s Office pushed back forcefully on Friday against claims by gun rights activist Kyle Rittenhouse that a fatal shooting in DeFuniak Springs was an act of lawful self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
Deputies arrested Michael Rediker, 44, on Thursday following a shooting on Pioneer Drive that left one man dead. Rediker is charged with one count of open murder, battery, and three counts of aggravated battery, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
He is being held without bond as the investigation continues.
Rittenhouse, who was acquitted citing self-defense laws in 2021 after killing two people during a racial justice protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, posted a video on Thursday outside the Walton County Jail, where Rediker is being held.
In the video he pinned to his X account, Rittenhouse claimed Rediker acted in self-defense and should be protected by Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute.
“Michael did nothing wrong, and he deserves all our support,” Rittenhouse said. “We are expecting an outright not guilty under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.”
Sheriff Michael Adkinson responded in a rare and strongly worded public video on Friday, rejecting those claims and criticizing Rittenhouse and his attorney for what he described as irresponsible commentary on an active homicide case.
“I don’t normally take the time to speak to public comments on cases, certainly not open cases,” Adkinson said. “But in this particular situation, a murder that occurred yesterday in Walton County, I feel compelled to respond to what I can only call wildly irresponsible.”
According to Adkinson, investigators allege that Rediker drove a tractor more than half a mile onto the victim’s property, where he became involved in a physical altercation with the victim’s wife. When the victim came outside to assist her, Adkinson said, Rediker shot him in the head.
“He was unarmed. There was no fight between them. There was no assault. There was no attack,” Adkinson said. “As he is lying, dying on the ground, this suspect, Michael Rediker, stood over him and made some comments for which he is going to answer to in court.”
The sheriff said the shooting occurred in front of witnesses and resulted in additional aggravated battery charges.
Authorities have described the incident as beginning with a neighborly dispute near a residential construction site, though Adkinson emphasized that Stand Your Ground does not apply.
“I’ll bet my badge on this,” Adkinson said. “Not only is this not a Stand Your Ground case, Mr. Rediker will face either the ultimate penalty in the state of Florida or, God willing, the rest of his natural life in prison.”
Adkinson also expressed sympathy for the victim’s family, noting that the man leaves behind a wife and two young children.
“Come Christmas morning in two weeks, there are two little boys, elementary school age, who are not going to have their father,” he said.
Rittenhouse, who returned to social media earlier this month after a hiatus and a stint at a gun shop in Santa Rosa County, has recently positioned himself as an advocate commenting on what he characterizes as Second Amendment-related cases.
“This doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the Second Amendment or Stand Your Ground,” Adkinson said. “There was a man who lost his life — unarmed, on his own property.”
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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